The versatility and determination of the Pakenham Warriors Youth Men has been the story of its season with three wins on the trot after some tight losses.
The squad has gone through multiple injuries and interruptions, with a number of key players missing games at different points of the season.
And even in a new competition landscape, the Warriors are learning through every result, but the most impressive part is the resilience they’ve shown as the campaign nears the halfway mark.
In its most recent win, Pakenham grinded out a strong 78-84 victory against Sunbury at Boardman Stadium.
The Jets had their fingerprints all over the first half, leading at the first break and extending the margin to 10 points midway through the second.
However, Linden Moon got some increased run in the game and caught fire, swinging the final portion of the half in favour of the Warriors.
He knocked down a pair of triples and a pair of free throws to help Pakenham jump back in front at the main break 37-42.
“Linden had eight points in a three minute span to end the first half which gave us the lead at halftime, so it’s good to see a development player come in and play those big moments and have a real impact in short minutes,” head coach Braden Venning said.
In the second half, the Warriors operated effectively offensively but Sunbury withstood their runs and refused to go away.
Despite never trailing in the quarter, Pakenham got a handy boost when the hosts were surging from Jye Horne, who drilled a three right before the end of the term to push the lead back to six.
In the fourth, Horne found space at the rim to finish for a layup, widening the difference to 10, but once again the Jets would not back down.
Angus Palmer converted from downtown before a Jake Meagher turnover led to another deep ball, this time from Zak Martinez.
Following two Horne made free throws, Martinez splashed another three and then a David Angove layup sliced the margin to just one and forced a timeout from Venning.
The break allowed the Warriors to regroup, immediately going on a 7-0 scoring run in response.
But just like over the course of the second half, Sunbury remained in the rearview mirror.
Angove hit a three to trim it back to two with under two minutes to play, before Pakenham knocked down four free throws to seal the game.
The damage was dealt on the defensive end for the Warriors, forcing 21 Jets turnovers and holding them to 39 percent shooting.
“It’s really pleasing to see,” Venning said of his side’s defence.
“As we’ve said, we pride ourselves on our defence, the ability to disrupt and create turnovers make it so much easier on the offensive end.
“Especially on a night where we only shot 5/17 from deep, so it’s less attempts than we’re used to and shooting at a lower clip than we’re used to.
“Credit to Sunbury, every time we’d stretch it out to 10 points, they’d bring it back to four points, so it was always seesawing but it was really good to see whoever I put out there step up in big moments.
“We can hang our hat on our defence, creating stops and extra possessions for ourselves.”
Without star Kaleb Beveridge, Pakenham dug deep to claw out the result against a competitive Sunbury lineup.
In the absence of Beveridge and reliable big Riley Pollard, Mitch Zeunert stood up again and continues his very impressive form while being a member of Venning’s starting unit.
Zeunert had 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks, anchoring the elite defensive structure that the Warriors have fallen back on all season.
“Mitch has been steadily developing for the last two years within the program,” Venning said of Zeunert.
“With Riley going over to America for four weeks, the opportunity arose for him and credit to him, he’s taken the opportunity with both hands and made the most of it.
“He’s playing within himself, working hard on defence and he’s blocking a lot of shots.
“He has the length, he can beat his man off the dribble or he can shoot his shot and he can attack the glass, so we’re really pleased with him and stoked for him.
“Without Kaleb and Riley, it’s really good to see guys step up into the opportunity and make the most of it.”
Aaron Small took on the role of captain with immense pride, leading the Warriors with 17 points and seven rebounds on 54 percent shooting.
The season has been full of ups and downs, with Pakenham splitting its first nine games into three blocks.
It won its first three games resoundingly before going on a three game skid.
Since then, it has rebounded wonderfully to claim three consecutive scalps.
Even in defeat, there have been incredible learning opportunities, with the losses being single-digit margins to first-placed McKinnon and second-placed Ringwood.
“The big promising sign is we’ve been up in all those games, we know we’re not far off,” Venning admitted.
“It hasn’t sapped any energy or confidence out of the boys because it’s a 22 game season.
“To see us steadily climb the ladder again is really good, we’re back into fourth and in a pretty good place coming up to the midpoint of the season.
“Going up a division, it’s been a fantastic challenge and it’s something the boys are really up for.
“In this grade, good teams punish your lapses very quickly.
“If you have key turnovers or lapses at the wrong times, it’s immediately punished, which in Youth 2 we could sometimes get away with.
“The good teams punish you immediately and can turn a four point lead into a six point deficit in no time at all, which is good.
“This is why we wanted to go up and play at a higher level, this is why we wanted to keep pushing and keep getting better because you get better playing against good teams.”
This brings the Warriors into their next clash, a blockbuster meeting with third-placed Bulleen on Sunday at Cardinia Life.
The Warriors have the chance to leapfrog the Boomers in the table with a victory and prove to the competition they can take down the contenders.
“It’s all about defensive intensity,” Venning mentioned as his key to the game.
“We’ve got to make sure we lock in for 40 minutes and force Bulleen into contested shots, pressure the ball handlers and step up in those key moments.”
In other results, the Pakenham Championship Women brushed off its first loss of the season to smash Warrandyte 86-47 at home.
On an off-night for Grace Graham, Kailey Neave, Bri Whatman and Skye Rees all contributed double-figure scoring.
The Warriors decimated the Venom in the first frame, outscoring the visitors 30-4 to open the game.
From there, the lead stretched to as many as 45 and Pakenham cruised to get back to second on the table.
The Championship Men had a heartbreaking loss away at Keysborough, with the Cougars’ fourth quarter stand snatching victory.
Steve Coffey had 24 points and five rebounds but the hosts overran the Warriors 24-16 in the final term to grab the 95-94 result.
The Youth Championship Women would have plenty of takeaways from Saturday’s home defeat to first-placed Melbourne.
The Tigers are 8-1 and the Warriors are struggling, but playing the best teams is always a way to get better.
Stella O’Loughlin had 18 points and four steals and Taleesha O’Kane provided a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, but Melbourne was too strong and won convincingly, 54-89.
